


Never Listen to Strangers

by PineByPine (Tyrannosaurus_Sex)



Series: Three Saplings (A Triplets AU Series) [11]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), F/M, Mind Control, Multi, Threesome - F/F/M, Triplets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 05:20:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrannosaurus_Sex/pseuds/PineByPine
Summary: Dipper has gone missing and the girls aren't taking it well.





	Never Listen to Strangers

Short sharp nails dug into the skin at Dipper’s shoulders like spurs into a horse’s sides and he quickened his pace accordingly. Lips brushed his ear and an intoxicating melody of moans slipped between them to coil around his brain stem. He reached up, grabbed a handful of fiery red hair and pulled. Her head snapped back and the muscles of her throat stretched before him. He nibbled at the pale flesh of her exposed neck. His free hand ran down the curve of her side and gripped the supple roundness of her buttock.

He could feel the climax growing within him and growled from his throat. “I’m fucking close.”

A slender hand cupped the side of his face and pale eyes locked gaze with his. “Just a little longer, my love.”

He slowed his movements and buried his face in her wild red mane of hair. “OK, I’m trying.”

Her lips were at his ear again and he could hear whispered sparks filling him with fire. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and drew her body against his own, feeling her legs curl around him. Although it took all the restraint he could muster, he kept himself slow and steady. In contrast, her voice rose in tempo and vigor.

“Show me.” She called, causing resonating echoes to spill through the cave. “Show me how much you love me.” Her lips found his, deep and passionate.

Dipper could hold himself back no more and felt the familiar tingle of pleasure rise inside him. His hands dug into her flesh as he crested on a wave of bliss. She squeezed him to her warmth with her legs, hands slithered around his neck, and she peppered his face with tiny kisses.

It was a long time before she released him.

They both slumped against the twisted and tangled scraps of cloth that formed this sort of nest, sweat dripping from skin, breaths ragged and heavy from exertion. Dipper smiled in foggy reverence and felt himself drift a little in and out of the welcome arms of sleep. He heard her humming softly to herself, curled on her side next to him, and the soft song wafted through the air of the cave, mixing with the sounds of the waves somewhere not far off.

Dipper stared at the rock above and half-dreamed, clear thought seemed so far away. He knew the girls probably wouldn’t like this; he’d made some sort of promise to them, hadn’t he? He was going to have a devil of a time explaining himself to them, but that seemed so very far off right now; he just wanted to lay here in this warm nest of rags in this cool hollow of stone and wait for his lover to want him again.

Silence crashed down on Dipper like a sudden sleet in summer. His eyes snapped open and looked with horror on the curled form next to him. Inwardly he winced against the memory of what she had made him do but he also thrilled; for once she had fallen asleep without restraining him. Now they he had his wits about him, this might be his one chance to escape.

With slow, carefully light and considered movements, he rose on his hands and feet. He looked about the dimly lit space for any useful scrap of his clothes, but nothing remained but what had been worked into the weaving of the nest. No matter, he wasn’t about to let a little nudity ruin this chance. She was between him and the entrance, her feathery dark hair wafting gently about her head in the faint currents of air.

He crept around her, placing every foot and hand slowly and cautiously to avoid noise, trying even to avoid breathing. It was slow, even agonizing as his tired muscles strained to keep him steady. Every bodily ache or complaint that had been pushed aside by his captor was coming back now: scrapes and rope burns, lumps and bruises, and even his aching empty stomach.

It seemed like an eternity before he reached the entrance of the little cave and was able to stand at his full height. He was on a little stretch of land, the shifting moonlight waves of Gravity Falls Lake before him and sheer rocky cliffs rising upward behind. It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t going to swim out of here and trying to climb seemed about as stupid an idea as he could imagine. So the only possibility was to follow the shore until he found something to help him. He knew there was the old boat dock and its store somewhere on the lake, but couldn’t reckon his current location enough to guess how far it was. He chose to go left along the shore and started setting one foot in front of the other. 

He was probably two hundred yards away from the cave’s entrance when he heard the scream, full of rage and disbelief. It carried enough power to stumble him but didn’t put him down. He knew she had woken and that what little window of escape still remained was now closing quickly. Adrenaline shot through Dipper’s body and in an instant he was at a full sprint away from the source of that horrible, hawkish noise.

His bare feet slammed into the slick rocky shore and his chest heaved to get him enough breath to keep going. He felt light headed; how long had it been since he’d eaten or slept? His memory was nothing but a cloudy blur that seemed to stretch on forever. He wiped the back of a hand across his eyes as his vision fuzzed a little. He was in no condition to keep running like this, but the knowledge of what pursued him kept him moving.

A screech so loud and high that it felt like a searing spear impaled the cool night silence. It struck Dipper’s feet from beneath him and sent him tumbling into the shallow water. His ankle flared with pain as he fell. He planted his hands on the ground and pushed his head above the waves. A dark figure stood a few yards away arms crossed over her chest.

Her lips parted and she began to sing.

Dipper dove back under the water and clamped his hands over his ears, trying to kick himself away from the shore at the same time. Her song was trashed by that of the water around his head and for a moment he elated that he could not hear it. Then a hand wrapped around that same ankle he had twisted in his fall. The pain burst like a red hot sun and he screamed, getting lungfuls of lake water. She hauled him back to the land, seemingly oblivious to his desperate thrashing.

Warm hands lifted him by his arm and neck and deposited him face down on the bare cold rock. Dipper tried to get his arms under him but found himself wracked with spraying coughs. He felt a body over him, thighs straddling his back, the warmth of her feeling like a furnace compared to the chill of the night air.

A tender hand rested on his head as he emptied himself of water, while another was pressed against his skin between his shoulder blades. He felt her lean down and could just feel the concerned expression on her face.

“Shh, there there, my love. That was quite a close one.” Her voice was like a flute or pipe, sliding into his head and cutting at his mind like a knife made of sugar.

Dipper felt his heart slow, his muscles relax. The pain of his body melted back to whatever hole she hid it in. It was a slow process, falling back into that song of hers, even when she blew it right into his ears. He could feel it working its way into him like gentle talons. He thought of his sisters, his family, and tried to yell out in the vain hope they might hear it, but all he managed was a pitiful, inarticulate whimper.

Then he couldn’t remember why he’d felt so bad. He wiped the strange tears from his eyes and rolled over beneath his lover. Blonde hair cascaded around him from above and a pair of icy blue eyes considered him out of a smug face.

“Hey there, beautiful.” He smiled up at her.

“I don’t like it when you run off like that.” The twinge of her voice was insolent and spoiled.

Shame flooded through him in one cold wave. He shied back from her and cringed. “I’m so sorry; I don’t know what came over me.”

She raised one golden eyebrow and then lowered herself onto him, her supple body melting against his. “You’re just lucky that I’m in a forgiving mood, buster.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder, drinking in her sound. Everything was right again; everything was better.

  
  


* * *

“How are you not upset about this?” Mabel paced the floor of their small attic room.

Ty turned the page of the journal. “I am upset, Mabes, but I’m also trying to do something useful. I can’t tear my hair out and read at the same time.”

Mabel groaned and flopped onto a cot. “It’s not like that stupid book will tell us where Dipper went.”

Ty felt her jaw clench as she reflexively bit down on the retort she was about to let out. She took a deep breath and continued studying the pages, trying to parse several layers of text and symbols written over one another.

“What did we even do to piss him off so much? I know I was teasing him a bit that day but it wasn’t like extra teasing or anything. Just usual Mabel adorable levels of teasing.”

Ty didn’t even look up from studying. “We didn’t do anything; everything was fine before he disappeared. He kissed us goodnight and everything.”

“Kissed you good night.” Mabel crossed her arms over her chest and fumed.

“You were asleep by the time he went to bed.” She couldn’t help but glare at Mabel. “I was right there next to you when he leaned over and kissed your forehead.”

“Well, if everything was fine, then why did he take off like that? No note or anything.” She grabbed her pillow and smacked herself in the face with it. “I want to go find him and kill him.”

“Just hold tight. I’m sure I’ll find something.”

“You’ve been studying that that stupid journal for five years, Ty! You’ve read it cover to cover a bazillion times, you and Dipper know it backwards and forwards, and you’ve been studying non-stop for two days! Face facts; if there was something in there that could’ve taken him you’d have found it by now. The answer’s not in there.”

Ty slammed the heavy covers of the journal together and stared daggers at her sister. “At least I’m trying to do something instead of blaming him.”

Mabel clawed the air in frustration. “I want to be out there searching like Soos and Grunkle Stan are!” She sat up and pointed a finger at Ty. “You’re the one who thinks we need to be here wasting our time looking through that thing.”

“If you’re so convinced he’s just hanging out at the mall or the arcade for two days, then go freaking look! I don’t care!” She turned herself on the bed to face away from her sister and resumed pouring over the pages of the old journal.

She heard the creak of the old cot springs as Mabel rose and then the sound of the floorboards as she left the room. It was a few minutes before her vision cleared of tears enough for her to resume reading. A few minutes later, she didn’t turn around when Mabel returned and opened the door cautiously.

She heard to sister’s soft voice from behind. “If he comes back or calls, I have my cell.” 

Ty tensed her shoulders and nodded.

“Or- you know- if you find anything let me know.”

* * *

Pain seared Dipper awake. His left ankle was nothing but a dull, grinding agony as someone manipulated the joint. He struggled to roll onto his back and push himself up on his arms. The creature, his captor, crouched near his foot, peering intently at the damaged ankle. She was slight, at the moment, with long straight black hair and heavily lidded eyes. She looked up at him and smiled then pointed at his ankle with a thin dainty finger.

“This very bad.” Her voice was heavily accented but still soft and lyrical. She gave him a stern look and swung the finger at his chest. “You must stay off it. No more escaping!”

Dipper admitted to himself that escape seemed pretty much impossible now, with such an injury. He glared at her, though, unwilling to admit anything to his enemy. More aches and pains were making themselves known now and he winced as the side of his head flared into brilliant complaint.

She noticed his reaction and placed a hand on his head, turning it to inspect him. “There is a bump. You hit your head on the rock. Not bloody.”

Her bare chest, very flat at the moment, brushed the side of Dipper’s face now and he pulled back instinctively.

She cocked her head at him, a waterfall of black hair falling over one shoulder. “You don’t like this one?” She waited for his to respond but after a long silence continued without him. “All you have to do is say so. I know ones that you do like.” Her body swelled a little, growing longer and more full. The black hair flared red and roared down her back. Freckles danced over her face and shoulders. Her eyes widened and lightened.

“I’m thinking this might just be your favorite. You gotta history with this girl?”

Dipper glared at her, his mouth a tight line.

His captor sighed. “I’m so sorry I have to sing so low right now. I hate to see you like this, babe, but if the song is loud enough to squash your anger then it dulls the pain too. And then I can’t tell if you’re hungry or thirsty or damaged.” She reached among the pile of shredded rags and selected some, her free hand grasping Dipper’s leg firmly. “Speaking of, this may hurt a bit.”

She held him immobile as she wrapped the ankle tightly. It did hurt but Dipper ground his teeth and tried not to let it show. When she was finished, she went to the mouth of the cave and returned with a tin camping bowl and a canteen. She offered them to him. When Dipper gently pushed them away she gave him a cross look.

“I could sing louder and make you take this. Enjoy what little leeway I’m giving you.” She shoved the containers into his lap.

He took a swig from the canteen and found that it wasn’t lake water, although it didn’t taste as sterile as bottled. The camp bowl held several hunks of raw pink fish, which he chewed as little as possible before swallowing. He’d never been a fan of sashimi. When he had finished, she smiled at him, pale eyes twinkling.

“Shall I sing to you now? It’ll make your pain go away.” She took in a deep breath in preparation.

Dipper put his hand up in protest. “Wait, please. Could I ask you some questions?”

The creature perked up and nodded.

“What do you want from me?”

She laughed and crawled over to him, laying a pale freckled arm across his chest and snuggling against him. “Oh silly boy. I just want you.”

His skin crawled at her touch, but he did his best not to show it, lest he inadvertently cut short this clarity of thought she was allowing him. “Are you a shapeshifter?”

He felt her head shake back and for against his shoulder. “I always look the same but you see what the song tells you. That part’s easy a cake. The same with your ears; they turn the song into words for you to understand.”

“Are you ever going to let me go?”

He felt her stiffen at this. “You only want to go because I am singing so softly right now. When I sing louder, your true feelings will come back and you’ll never want to leave me again.”

Dipper swallowed, mouth suddenly quite dry again. “Why me?”

She giggled a little. “Because I’ve seen you with those other two. I know how much love you have and I figured if it was enough for two others, then it was enough for me.”

“But…” His reply was interrupted by a pair of fingers being pressed to his lips.

“Shhh, babe. I think it’s been quite long enough and I just can’t stand to see you so unhappy.” Her voice rose as she spoke, becoming more and more flute-like. The music surged in Dipper’s mind and he felt himself melting into it. Her body against his suddenly seemed to glow with golden warmth and his dry mouth started to hunger for her. The pain fled, driven back by her radiant glow and Dipper felt good and whole again.

He kissed the fingers against his lips and his lover smiled at him. Her hand trailed down his chest and tickled at the dark little hairs that led from his belly button down. At her touch, his cock swelled and stood erect. He looked down at her and gazed into her half lidded eyes.

“There’s the man I love.” She said sweetly and rose to her knees. “Now lets see if you can earn your keep.”

She pushed him down to the surface of the nest and swung one leg over him, knees on either side of his head. Dipper reached up his hands and grasped her hips, pulling her down into reach of his mouth and tongue. An aria of pleasure rose from her throat and made the walls of the little cave ring with harmonics.

* * *

Mabel trudged up the drive to the shack and shouldered her way through the front door, feeling undead the whole way. Feet aching, exhausted, she leaned against the wall and momentarily considered the body curled into a ball on the living room couch. Ty looked very small. She dumped her purse on the floor and dropped heavily onto the cushion next to her sister.

“Soos and Grunkle Stan got back a couple of hours ago.” Ty’s voice creaked up from between her hands.

Mabel nodded wearily.

“You were right, sis. I just spun my wheels all night looking through books.”

The eldest triplet slumped down against the sofa. “Yeah, well at least you didn’t spend hours hiking around central Oregon and come up with bupkis like I did.” She placed a hand on Ty’s shoulder and squeezed. “Nobody in town has even seen him. You’re right; something weird must have happened.”

Her sister shifted a little and put her head on Mabel’s lap. “Any idea what we do next?”

“Nope.” She ran her fingers through Ty’s hair and closed her eyes, just for a bit. She woke a some time later, Ty curled around her as they lay on the couch. Her sister’s arms were not relaxed in her sleep; they held Mabel tightly, almost frantically. She grasped a slim hand in her own and squeezed, trying to push images of her brother in peril from her mind.

Through the shack’s windows, she could see the sky starting to tinge with the violet of predawn. She stared at the shifting sky for a few minutes, searching for something useful she could do to find her brother. She shook her foggy tired head, pried Ty’s arms from their death grip on her, and slumped her way into the kitchen. On any normal day, she would have grabbed the grinder and dug into the supply of expensive roasted beans Dipper always kept in the freezer. That didn’t seem appropriate today and instead she grabbed some of Grunkle Stan’s cheap pre-ground stuff; it tasted like dirt but was strong as an ox.

Ty came in while the coffee brewed, rubbing red rimmed eyes with a sleeve. “The car’s already gone.”

Mabel nodded, their great uncle wasn’t the type to sit around either. The pot finished filling and she poured one for herself and one for her sister. Ty handed her the sugar pot as she took her mug and Mabel started shovelling the pot’s contents it into her coffee.

Ty took a deep gulp from her mug, made a face, then chased it with another. “Who do we know who might know something useful?”

Mabel tasted her own and added more sugar. “You mean like one of the locals? Gideon Gleeful had a journal for a long time and knew some stuff.”

“But he’s probably the last person who would actually help us, especially to find Dipper. What about Love God?”

Mabel frowned. “I don’t think he’s likely to be much help either, after what we did last time he was in town.” She stared into the murky contents of her mug, thinking. “There’s that herd of centaurs living at the old racetrack.”

“They moved out last summer. Do you think the sasquatch is still hanging around the dump?”

“Not unless he’s also became invisible. We could probably get ahold of that Mooby Doo thing?”

Ty winced. “Moddey Dhoo. You’re probably right but the implications of a psychopomp having seen Dipper aren’t something I want to deal with right now. What about the King of Winter?”

Mabel brightened a little. “He did say he owes us.” She jumped up and started toward where her purse lay in the entryway. She pulled her phone out of it and flipped open the contact list, finding a cryptically named entry. When called, it went to voicemail.

She cursed but felt a little better for actually doing something. “At least it’s a place to start.”

* * *

“I don’t know why I’m agreeing to meet you like this.” Powers looked over the top of his newspaper and narrowed his eyes at the Pines sisters.

“Because you still owe Dipper after that incident with the plesiosaur at the public pool.” Ty said cooly.

Mabel plonked herself down on the park bench next to the suited man. “Did you know they still haven’t been able to reopen? And that was nearly three years ago.”

Powers glowered and put let the paper rise again. “The United States government officially denies all of the events in question.”

“Be that as it may,” Ty sat on the man’s other side, “our brother still saved your butt and now it’s time to return the favor.”

“What do you want?”

“Dipper’s been missing for three days. He just up and disappeared in the middle of the night, no trace.”

The man scoffed through his mustache. “He’s probably off in the woods hunting after some monster.”

Mabel’s hand tore the newspaper from his hands in a flash. Powers looked at the expression the girl’s face and stammered, then shut up. 

“The whole family is quite concerned, Mr. Powers.” Ty continued. “And if you could be of any assistance we would really appreciate it.”

He gave her a sidelong glance and leaned his hands on his knees. “My jurisdiction doesn’t cover Oregon these days but I can make some calls, maybe find out if anything new has moved into this area.”

“You’ve got our numbers if you find anything.” Ty and Mabel rose and began to walk out of the park.

“And girls,” he called and they paused, turning back, “if you run into anything and need some backup let me know. I think I can arrange something.”

They nodded and continued on their way.

* * *

The leaf-blower hummed in Ty’s hands and her thumb twitched over the speed dial, ready to kick it up to full blast. Mabel lifted the small body by a couple of fistfulls of beard hair.

She spoke through gritted teeth. “OK, Jeff. Talk.”

“I don’t know what you’re on about. We don’t know nothing!” The gnome’s limbs thrashed the air.

“Everyone knows something.” Ty interjected.

Mabel shook the gnome violently. “You little twerps are all over these woods; one of you has seen something.”

Jeff held up his small hands in compliance. “I swear, we’re not the most observant bunch of guys. I got run over by a deer yesterday and didn’t even notice until Clarence pointed out I had hoof-prints on my back.” He glanced nervously from one girl to the other. “What are you looking for anyway?”

“Our brother!” Mabel gave him another good shake for emphasis.

“Woah woah woah!” He pleaded. “There’s no way Dipper Pines has been anywhere near this forest in like days.”

Ty furrowed her brows at him. “What makes you so sure?”

“We’ve been paid to keep an eye on all three of you.”

“You what?!” Both sisters yelled in unison.

Jeff reached up and tugged on his collar. “We’ve been- you know- surveilling you whenever you’re in the forest.”

“Who in the hell told you to do that?”

The gnome shrugged. “That old guy you live with.”

Ty almost dropped the leafblower. Mabel raised Jeff’s face up level with hers and gave him a graven look. “What have you been telling him?”

The gnome stammered for a moment. “Well, everything I guess.”

“For how long?”

“A couple of years, you guys weren’t so big when we started. Way before you all started with the-” he made a polite cough, “-camping trips.”

Mabel dumped him on the ground head first and rubbed her face with a hand. “Oh jeez, this is the last thing we need right now.”

Ty stepped up and pointed the end of the idling leaf blower at the gnome’s face. “And you’re certain none of you have seen Dipper in the last three days?”

Jeff nodded nervously. “I swear, I’d have known if they did.”

She flipped the blower off and shooed him away with a swift kick. 

Mabel clenched her fists. “I guess we know who we’re talking to next.” She growled.

Ty put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “I think you’re right but can I make one suggestion?”

Mabel turned to her and gave her a look.

“Don’t bring up the gnome thing with Grunkle Stan.”

“What? Why not? He’s been spying on us; he knows about…” She trailed off as her voice had grown quite loud and continued more softly. “He knows about the three of us.”

Ty took a breath. “And he hasn’t said a word about it. So either he’s willing to let it happen and not do anything about it or he knows he can’t because then he’ll have to explain how he knows. Either way, we don’t gain anything by bringing it up.”

Mabel chewed her lip in worry and thought. After a few moments, she too breathed deeply. “We ought to wait until we’ve got Dipper back before we open that can of worms, I guess.”

Her sister nodded. “But it’s pretty obvious our great uncle knows more than he lets on and I think it’s time we had a frank conversation with him.”

* * *

Stanford Pines set his cane across his knees and eyed his grand nieces as Soos left the room. “Look, if your brother didn’t run off, then what you two saying happened? This isn’t about any of that spooky mumbo-jumbo you kids are always on about is it?”

Ty and Mabel’s faces were both stern. They shared a look between them and decided that Ty would start. “Cut the crap, Grunkle Stan. This isn’t the time to play dumb.”

Mabel sighed heavily. “We know you know about how weird this town is.”

“And we’ve exhausted every other option we’ve got. We called in all our owed debt and talked to everyone we know.”

“You’ve been living here for decades.” Mabel pleaded. “You have to know something or someone we don’t.”

“It’s time to play it straight.”

They crossed their arms over their chests and gave him a pair of withering stares.

Stan folded. “Look, do you think I haven’t been making calls and asking questions myself? I’ve got nothing too. I’ve cashed in almost every favor I’m owed and nothing, nada, bupkis, zilch.”

Mabel cocked an eyebrow at him. “Almost?”

The old man let out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t think things were that bad; I figured the boy would show up again with some crazy story.” He shook his grey head and looked up up at his nieces. “But I suppose the situation is dire enough. Bring me the phone.” He held out a hand.

Ty handed him the cordless.

He typed in about twice as many digits as even a foreign number required and held it to his ear. There were a couple of rings before it picked up and a woman’s voice could be heard. 

“Uh hey, toots.” Stan chuckled nervously. “Guess who?”

The line switched off with a click. He placed the phone on the kitchen table and drummed his fingers on his cane. “Just give her a minute.” Then muttered almost inaudibly. “I’m going to regret this.”

The kitchen door slammed open so hard that one of the hinges actually came off the frame. A woman stood in the doorway, face filled with fury, breathing heavily as if she’d just recently exerted herself. She was tall enough that her thick mane of straw colored hair to almost touch the top of the doorway. Her leaf green dress contained ample curves and was slit high enough to show off a pair of shapely golden tanned legs.

Her voice was like the rush of a summer storm. “Stanford Pines, you have the nerve of a…” She stopped in shock. “Wow, you’ve gotten  _ old _ .”

She stomped sandaled feet across the kitchen floor and grabbed Stan by the face, stretching the skin experimentally back. 

“Ow ow ow.” He protested.

She screwed up her face with concentration. “Yes, you’re still in there somewhere. What kind of man waits forty years to call? You wasted all your handsome.”

Stan managed to swat her hands away from his face. “I was gonna call, but things just sorta kept gettin in the way.”

“Well if you think we can just pick up where we left off now that you’re old and ugly, you’re in for a big let down.” She glanced at the girls as if noticing them for the first time. “Are you related to this ass?” One golden thumb hooked in Stan’s direction.

Ty and Mabel nodded, still slightly bewildered.

The old man planted his cane on the floor and pushed himself to his feet, knees creaking. “Look here, your highness. I know full well you don’t want to see me after all this time but I need your help with something.”

The blonde snorted through her nose and smirked. “As if I had any reason to help you. I don’t owe you a thing.”

Stan’s mouth tightened. “I’ve got a chit that’s been damn near eighteen years in the works.” He motioned at the middle triplet. “Queen of Summer, meet your namesake, Titania Pines.”

The woman looked at Ty and one eyebrow arched inquisitively. “Really now?”

Stan worked his way over to his grand niece’s side and put an arm around her. “Talked her parents into it myself; I knew what that sort of thing means to your kind.”

“Grunkle Stan…” Ty started to speak and received an cane handle in the ribs.

The Queen of Summer strolled over and looked the young girl up and down. Her smirk widened to a smile. “A mortal namesake is worth something; you’ve done me an honor, Stanford Pines.” She turned back to him. “Very well, one small favor you shall have.”

Stan straighten and indicated to the girls again. “These two have a brother, same age, looks a bit like ’em. He’s went missing a few nights ago, seems like he just poofed into thin air. We’d like to know where he is.”

Titania’s smile broadened. “Oh, indeed. Do you have a picture?”

Stan pulled out a battered old wallet and produced an worn snapshot of the three of them. “This is from last summer.”

A pair of long fingers snapped and a small form buzzed into the room, trailing a little glittering dust. The human shaped figure hovered near the queen’s head and saluted. She pointed at the photo in response.

“Have any of my subjects reported seeing the one in this photo?”

The faerie flitted over and inspected the image. He scratched his head for a moment. “Well, I’m looking at them right here.” He said tentatively.

Titania’s face twisted with frustration. “The boy, nitwit!”

The little man fled from her vicinity and cowered. “Oh! Of course, your majesty. Yes, last night one of your scouts reported a human fitting that description on the shore of the nearby lake. He was pursued by a siren, ma’am.”

She swatted in the faeries direction with a hand. “Very well; be gone then.” She turned back to the Pines family. “Is that satisfactory?”

The girls had almost sprinted out the door already but their uncle had a firm grip on Ty’s shoulder. He nodded to the queen. “That is very helpful, your highness. Consider us square.”

She glowed happily and interlocked the fingers of her hands. “No indeed, now there is one last debt between us, Pines.” She cracked her knuckles.

There was blur of motion and sound like a wet ham being hit with a ruler. The old man spun from the slap and tumbled to the kitchen floor with a faint crunch. 

The queen took in a happy breath and spun on one sandaled heel. “Ah, it feels so good to be free of another obligation.” She called over her shoulder on the way out the door. “I do expect my namesake to appear at court this season. Bring your siblings, little Titania; we’ll show you a wonderful time.”

In a warm gust of wind, she was gone.

Mabel crouched to help her uncle up but recoiled as he howled in pain with the first small movement.

“Oh for crying out…” He grumbled. “My dang hip’s out again. Soos, get in here!” He looked back at the girls. “Soos will take care of me. You two take my car and head to the lake. Get your brother.”

Mabel nodded and dashed off to retrieve the keys. Ty crouched and took her uncle’s hand in hers. She looked at him, brows furrowed. “Stan, I’ve seen my birth certificate. It just says Ty Pines.”

The old man let out a sharp “Ha!” Then he groaned in pain again. “I tried my damndest; is it my fault I couldn’t tell them why you ought to have been named Titania? Couldn’t stop them from shortening it. Anyway it’s close enough for the fae folk. Just don’t go blabbing about it and we’ll be fine.”

She planted a kiss on his temple and rushed off to meet Mabel at the car.

  
  


* * *

Dipper stared at the wall of the little cave, watching the sunlight reflected from the lake outside as it bounced and shimmered dimly along the stone. He thought about how long it would take him to work the knot that bound his wrists loose with his teeth and reasoned that he could surely have it undone by nightfall. Meanwhile, the dull ache of his leg reminded him of exactly why that was useless.

His captor lay against his back and he could feel as she stirred a little. He heard a long relaxed yawn and then the lilt of her voice. “Awake, my love?”

“Yes.” He grumbled.

She rose and put an arm over him, resting her chin on his shoulder. Short violet hair framed a delicate face. “Are you hungry?”

Dipper took a deep breath, knowing that once she had assessed his condition, his ability to think freely was no longer useful to her. He rolled over and looked her in the eye, expression stern. “I don’t like that face.”

“Don’t you? You seemed to enjoy it earlier.” She smiled coyly at him.

He rose and leaned against the cave wall. “It’s rude for you to use someone else’s appearance like that. They wouldn’t like it.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care what some humans like or don’t like.”

“But I thought you were doing this to please me. I just thought you should know that it doesn’t, it pisses me off.”

She rocked her head from one side to the other, considering him carefully. “You’re not yourself when I don’t sing for you.” She pouted.

Dipper rolled his eyes dramatically and rested his head against the wall, looking up at the stone above. “The song makes me what you want me to be. This is the real me.”

She shook her head. “No, my song brings out the best in the world. It makes the fish come close to the surface so I can reach them. It makes the tasty birds land and not fly away when I grab them. Singing makes the humans leave me alone. The world is a harsh place when I don’t sing; it’s dangerous. Now, do you wish me to bring you more food? More water?”

Dipper’s mouth became a thin line. “I want you to let me go.”

“I don’t see why; I make you very happy here.”

He groaned frustratedly and bumped the back of his head softly against the wall. “Because my family is back home and I’m sure they’re worried sick about me. Hell, I’m worried sick about them. I want to go back and be with the people I love.”

“You love me.” She crawled toward him.

“Only because you make me with that damn magic. I don’t really love you.”

Her face flashed with pain and rage. She drew in a breath; the song rose in intensity in Dipper’s mind, creeping into it like fingers working their way into jello. He tried to put his hands over his ears but the rope around his wrists prevented him. Futilely, he slid down the wall and tried to belly crawl toward the cave’s entrance. He could feel his muscles weakening with each note, his will to fight draining from him.

A pair of hands clutched at him, pulling him back toward her. She turned him over and straddled him, holding him still as the song overtook him. Dipper felt something wet hit his face, like a raindrop. He looked up to see his love’s face twisted, screwed up and reddened as she held herself over him.

Carefully, he reached his bound hands up and looped them over her head, drawing her down and holding her to his chest. He whispered into her ear. “What’s wrong, darling?”

It took her a little while to control the sobs enough to speak. “It’s just so hard when you say that you don’t love me. When I don’t sing you treat me like a monster and it makes me so afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” He kissed her forehead.

“That you’ll leave and I’ll be alone. I wish you acted like this all the time; it would make things so much easier. I hate having to tie you up, having to hear you say those awful things.”

“It’s all right now.” He ran his hands up and down her back. “I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.” He held her for a long time, letting the warmth of their bodies seep together.

She pushed herself up and stared down at him, face serious. “What is so great about your old life that you insist on wishing to return?”

He blinked at her in confusion. “I want to be with the people I care about. We could both go. I could introduce you to my family.You could sing to them and we’d all love you.”

She frowned. “I can’t sing to that many people at once. The more there are the weaker it gets. We have to stay together but alone.”

Dipper sighed. “If that’s what it means to be with you, then I guess that’s what we have to do.” He leaned up and kissed her softly. “I love you.”

He watched as her expression melted. She pushed him back down to the nest and pressed her forehead to his, hands holding his shoulders. She kissed the tip of his nose and smiled. She sang to him. “You know just what to say to make a girl feel wanted.” 

A gurgling noise wafted its way up from Dipper’s stomach and his love gave him a quizzical look. He shrugged. “I guess it’s been a while since I’ve eaten.”

She brightened. “Oh then I will go sing to the fish and bring you something to eat.” 

She slipped from his arms and scrambled for the cave entrance. After a few minutes, the song began to fade in Dipper’s head and he sat up, frowning. He didn’t know how long he could stand having his mind messed with like that before it started to drive him bonkers. He could still remember the way he’d felt when she’d controlled him and it seemed so real. But the moment it was gone all of the fear and revulsion returned, all his worry and pain. The whiplash of going back and forth felt like it was getting to him.

A light played itself around the cave’s interior and there was a blank moment before Dipper realized that it was from a flashlight. He looked toward the entrance and was blinded by the sudden brilliance. Then someone was tackling him, pulling him tightly against a soft knitted surface.

“Yes yes yes yes yes! You’re here! Ty, he’s in here! Help me get him out!”

Hands gripped him and lifted him. In a moment he was in the bright of the daylight, his arms slung over the shoulders of his sisters as they dragged him to his feet. He smiled, feeling the afternoon sun on him and the closeness of their bodies. He could feel tears starting to run down his cheeks. They started to guide him hobbling down the shore.

Ty glanced nervously over her shoulder. “Sorry we didn’t get here earlier, Dip. We had to wait for the siren to leave so we could slip in.”

Dipper pulled her in and kissed her cheek. “I don’t care. You came; that’s what matters.”

Mabel gave him an offended look. “Hey, I’m rescuing you, too.”

He kissed her as well. “Just hurry up and let’s get out of here before she get’s…”

A wall of sound slammed into them, a wail of furious anguish that felt like a freight train. All three siblings went weak at the knees and as a group, lost their balance. Dipper’s ankle flared with pain as he landed on the rocky surface and he let out a yelp. He forced himself to turn over to look at her.

A couple of trout dangled from one taloned fist. Her feathered shoulders rose and shook with every heaving breath. Huge amber eyes raged at him, tears streaming down her delicate features. 

She opened her mouth and began to sing.

Dipper felt the song seep into him like it did before, felt it numbing the pain, but it did so very slowly. He glanced and saw his sisters trying to rise to their feet, unable to summon the strength. He glared at the siren, now a flickering vision of chestnut hair and familiar features. The song felt weaker than before.

_ Together but alone, _ he thought.

“I don’t love you.” The words were hard to get out. They almost caught in his throat, but he forced himself to remember how it felt when she was gone.

The siren looked stricken, as if she’d received a physical blow. Dipper redoubled his will and forced himself to glare at her, forced himself to hate her.

“You’re a monster.”

She dropped the fish and looked away, then raised her voice and Dipper felt the song pounding away at him. With great effort, he reached over and grasped Mabel’s hand, put his other on Ty’s shoulder.

“I’m leaving, no matter how hard you sing.”

Her eyes drilled into him and the song shifted. It drilled into him, battering back his will to resist. His pain faded. His heart swelled. He wanted to be with her, to go away some place secluded and make a life.

Bodies slammed into the siren from two directions. A pair of hands grabbed one of her arms and twisted it. An arm snaked around her neck and squeezed, choking the song out of her. She thrashed, contorted her body and lashed out with her feet. A claw raked across Ty’s chest and arm, opening up three parallel gashes that seeped red and staggering her back. Mabel lifted the siren off the ground by the neck and drove her into the water of the lake. She held her there, avoiding the struggling limbs as they fought to claw at her.

Dipper’s head cleared and he pushed himself up onto his arms and knees, crawling over to Ty. She was pulling her cell phone from her pants with one hand, her other trying to put pressure on her wounds. She put the phone to her ear.

“Hello,” she yelled into it over the sound of splashing. “We’re at Lake Gravity Falls. Yes. Do you think you can handle a siren?”

Dipper heard a man’s voice faintly over the line. “Gag it. We’ll be there in ten.” And the line went dead.

Mabel dragged the birdlike figure from the lake and dropped in on the rocky shore. She looked exhausted, but not a third as bad as the siren did. She was little more than a pile of weakly moving limbs and feather, alive, but barely.

* * *

A finger poked Mabel’s nose and she startled awake. She pushed herself off the waiting room sofa and looked from the face of her brother to her sister, both smiling at her. Ty had a gauze wrapping over her chest and shoulder. Dipper was wearing some lost and found clothes and his arms were covered in small bandages and bruises, but Mabel thought he looked like a million bucks.

She threw her arms around them and hugged, nearly pulling Dipper off his crutches and eliciting a small whimper from Ty as her stitches were squished between them.

“Oh sorry about that.” She gave them a concerned look. “Everyone cleared to leave?” It was really hard to resist the urge to kiss them both.

Dipper shook his head. “Grunkle Stan’s going to be laid up for a few days at least, but they said we should come back to visit him the morning.”

Ty took Mabel’s hand and squeezed. “At least the three of us are back together.” She reached up and ruffled Dipper’s greasy hair. As they made their way out to the parking lot, Mabel turned and walk backwards in front of her siblings, smiling at them. “I guess you’ve got an some stuff to write in your own journal. Don’t ya, Dippinstuff?”

He grinned a little. “I think I can write a pretty extensive entry on sirens now.”

Ty winced a little. “Beware the claws that catch, for instance.” She shot Mabel a meaningful look.

“Ah yea,” Mabel turned to walk forward again and rubbed her neck with her hand, “we’re all going to have to have a talk with Grunkle Stan about some junk when he gets out of the hospital.”

Her sister continued. “Apparently our dear great uncle has an arrangement with the gnomes to spy on us when we’re in the woods. This has been going on for a while yet.”

Dipper froze, face twisted. “So you’re saying he knows?” They nodded. “Crap, does the drama never end?”

“Well, we’re done for tonight.” Mabel started to skip. “I declare this a drama-free zone!”

Ty shot her brother a sidelong glance and followed her. Dipper smiled after them.


End file.
